Starts of with a Tornado
by you-claimed-my-pen-name
Summary: Claire's farm house was wrecked by a storm in the winter, so now she has nowhere to live but at the inn... where Gray lives. And... just a lot of Gray and Claire moments. Please R&R
1. Chapter 1

Gray and Claire

Fan Fiction Chapter #1

**I'm going to try and make a proper fan fiction out of this. So this story is practically about Claire losing her farm house and having to live at the Inn with Gray and Ann. Cliff's moved away and Kai's not here for winter. **

I had collapsed and was at the doctor's when it struck. And I didn't even know about until the next morning, when I woke up from my brief coma.

I opened my eyes and looked around, confused. The scene that greeted me was not my farm home, but a white hospital room. The dark-haired doctor was at the foot of the bed, Elli at his side.

"You're awake," Elli said, obviously relieved.

I tried to sit up on the lumpy hospital bed. "What happened?"

"Zach found you collapsed on your farm when he came to pick up your shipments," Doctor informed me. "You must've been pushing yourself."

"It's almost Winter," I explained. "I wanted to do as much as I could." That reminded me. "What day is it today? How long was I unconscious?"

"It's the second of Winter. You've been out for three days now."

"Three days?" I repeated, baffled. Wow, that was long.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel great. Thanks. Um, can I go home now?" I really need to check on my crops.

"I'll just run some examinations on you, and then you can go home," he assured me.

"Okay…" I couldn't argue with the Doctor, after all.

I was finally allowed to leave, with strict orders from both Doctor and Elli, to not push myself any longer. Fortunately, the Harvest Sprites had taken care of my crops before Winter killed them. I was sincerely grateful to them. I would have to thank them later. Maybe buy them presents or bake cookies for them.

When I stepped out of the Clinic, a boy with a large cap that covered his fair hair was staring at me. His sky-blue eyes were wide with shock, but there was also relief in his expression.

"Claire!" he exclaimed.

"Hi, Gray," I smiled timidly. "What are you doing here?"

It was unlikely that he'd come this way. Since the sun was high in the sky, I assumed it was around one o'clock by now. Shouldn't he be in the library?

"Well, um, I was…" he pulled his cap down in an embarrassed gesture. "I heard that you've been out for a few days now, so I just came to check on you."

"I'm fine, Gray. Thanks for coming." Wow, I didn't think that anyone in town would come check up on me- much less Gray. But I guess he's a pretty good friend. Maybe he thought of me that way too.

"I knew you'd be fine," he said, smiling up at me. It looked smug. "You're the tough Claire, after all."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Nothing…" he said innocently.

"Whatever," I shrugged. "I'm going back to my farm. Wanna come with?"

"Sure. Okay."

"Great," I grinned. "Let's go. I haven't been there in a while. I kind of miss it."

"You didn't even know that you haven't been there," he pointed out.

I pouted. "I hate it when you make sense more than I do."

He laughed once. It was a sound that used to shock me. Gray never laughed before. He was as grumpy as his grandfather when I first met him- and incredibly rude too. But I was a farmer and visited the blacksmith a lot, so we started to become friends. Now he's opened up to me a whole lot. I never thought I'd see the day.

"Claire?" he said.

I looked up at him. "What?"

"I'm glad you're awake," he smiled genuinely. "Really."

"Uh…" I searched for the right word. "Thanks."

How often did Gray say something like that? It was very unlikely. I didn't know how to react. Still, he's a nice person deep down. I already knew that.

My farm was a chaotic mess. If the Harvest Sprites hadn't saved them, my crops would not have a chance. There was weed everywhere, and huge rocks and tree branches had been blown all over the farm. A tornado must've passed while I was in coma. It would take weeks to clean this up. And in the middle of Winter? I shivered in the cold wind. Snow was piling up on the farm; it would be more work for me to clean them up. My barn, chicken coop, stable and doghouse was in almost perfect shape. It would be fine for the animals to continue living there and not get sick or cold. It was most unfortunate that I couldn't say the same for myself and my house. I stared at it, open-mouthed.

The whole side of it had been wrecked. The tornado had no doubt torn it apart. It looked like it had caught on fire, and then someone had run over it with a bulldozer. Something worse than that anyway.

"It's going to be okay, Claire."

Suddenly, Gray was comforting me. He was standing behind me and put his hands on my tensed shoulders in a very casual move. "Let's go get Gotz and see how long it will take for him to fix this."

I nodded. It was helpful to have him around in these times. He was always calm- unless he was angry- and that would've been enough.

"Come on." He took my hand and led me across the farm. "At least the rest of the farm is okay."

I nodded again. My house was wrecked though. I was practically homeless. What the heck happened while I was out? _Why _did this happen? There was no use to wallow in self-pity. I have to just get over it. And get over it fast. We reached the timber house where Gotz, the woodcutter, lived.

"It's going to take weeks to get this fixed," Gotz said, inspecting the damage of the farm house. "I'll say a month, at least."

"A month?" I echoed, my voice high with stress.

He looked at me in the eye. "I don't know, exactly, when I'll finish this by, but I'm going to go ahead and say that you can move back in after Winter, at the very least."

I processed the news. If I can't live in my farm for the whole winter, where am I going to live?

"You can stay at the Inn!" Gray suggested.

I had more than enough money to do that. Ann was also a pretty good friend of mine, and it _would_ be fun to live with her for a change. Gray's going to be there too, so if she was busy, he could stay with me. It wouldn't be so bad. It might even be like a sleepover… for a month.

I pondered for a moment. "Alright. I'll do it."

"You're going to the Inn?" Gray asked.

"Uh-huh," I replied, then turned to Gotz. "One month?"

"I'll try my best," he replied. "But I can't be sure as to how long this will go for. It's really bad."

I winced, but smiled. "I'll be at the farm in daytime, anyway. How about I help you build?"

Gotz grinned. "You've got guts, kid. It _would_ get the job done faster."

"I'll help too," Gray declared.

"Really?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "I haven't got anything to do. I'll come by after work."

"You don't have to," I objected.

"It's okay, Claire. I'll be here."

"We'll start tomorrow," Gotz informed us. "I have to collect more lumber."

"Let's go to the Inn now," Gray said. "You need to tell Doug."

"Right," I agreed, and let him walk me to the inn.

"Seriously, Claire. You have nothing to worry about!" Gray tried to cheer me up. It was out of his depth to do this, and I could sense that he was feeling awkward. "It's going to be fun at the Inn, I promise. Ann's your friend, isn't she? Maybe she'll even come sleep in the same room as you… if you ask her. Plus I'll always be by your side- literally."

I smiled at him. Gray really was a great friend. There weren't many friends like him in the whole world. I was really growing attached to Mineral Town.

"Thanks, Gray," I said, genuinely. "But you don't have to do this," I added for his benefit.

"No, it's okay. What are friends for, right?" he grinned at me reassuringly.

"You're a great friend," I stated. "You know that, right?"

He looked down, lowering his cap. I knew him well enough to know that this meant that he was embarrassed by what I said. It was, in a way, adorable.

"Um… sure," he muttered dismissively, like he didn't even think about it, and opened the door to the Inn. The inn was a two storey building. It had a row of yellow flowers growing beside the front door and it was built in white bricks. Small, blue windows stuck out from the rooms. It was probably here since Mineral Town was built by Mayor Thomas's ancestors… which was who knows how long?

Gray let go of the door once we were inside and it swing shut with a creak.

"Welcome!" Ann greeted us with the professionalism of a waitress. Then her big, blue eyes fell on me. "Claire!" she exclaimed. "You're fine! I was so worried!"

Then she crushed me in a bear hug. Admittedly, I was a bit touched. Had Ann really cared that much about me? We were friends, but I hadn't thought much of it. My old friends wouldn't have visited me or anything. I guess, though, that my old town was a lot bigger than Mineral Town, and people were busier.

I smiled at her when she released me. "I feel fine, Ann. Thanks for worrying."

She grinned back. "So why are you here with Gray?"

Gray cleared his throat, catching her attention.

"Whatever you're thinking, that's not it," he guaranteed coolly. "You may not have heard but…"

"But…?" she urged.

I quickly explained to her that I had lost my home in the tornado. I told her that Gotz was going to fix it, but I needed a place to stay for about a month. So I came to the Inn.

Ann was sympathetic, and just like Gray, she encouraged me cheerfully, telling me that we'd have so much fun here.

Cliff, a shy boy that Ann liked, had been Gray's roommate and their customer for some years, but he left Mineral Town not too long ago, and I knew Ann was still pretty sad about this. She tried not to show it though, since she was the cheery, tomboy girl. I'd known Cliff as well, and although he was shy, he was well-liked and accepted here. Maybe that's why Cliff liked this place better than his hometown. I could understand that.

Ann seem to be thinking about the same person as I was. She looked distracted, but she had a smile pasted on her face. As if it wasn't obvious.

"Sometimes, I do miss Cliff," Ann admitted in a low voice.

I smiled and patted her shoulder. "We all do."

Gray looked away, but not even he denied it.

Ann grinned up at me. "It's okay. I know that he's leading a great life somewhere. Maybe he'll come back for a visit sometime."

"Yeah," I agreed. "He'll _definitely _come."

Ann laughed. "I'll look forward to the day. But for now, come on, I'll show you your room."

"I think I know where it is," I reminded her.

Ann loved cleaning, and sometimes, I'd hang out with her while she cleaned the girls' room. Of course, no one ever stayed there, but she said it was better to clean it, just in case. In some ways, you've got to admire that girl's hope. It just never seemed to die.

"That's right, you probably do. But it's my job as the Inn hostess, to show you."

"Inn hostess?" I repeated.

She shrugged. "It's a cool title."

I followed her up the stairs, and we stopped in front of the first room. There were only two rooms. Gray's was beside mine. It was the boys' room. This was the rarely used girls' room. I was going to stay there for the first time.

Ann walked right in, leaving the door open, and I trailed after her. Gray stopped in the doorway. I could tell that he's never been in this room before.

"See? I _told_ you that cleaning the rooms was a good idea," Ann grinned, rubbing it in my face a little. "You never know when someone might come to stay."

"Right," I agreed easily. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm just going to leave you now. There are customers I have to serve. See you."

"Bye."

Ann skipped off, and I was wondering where all her energy comes from. Did she have her own, personal energy fairy or something?

"Can you believe, that all this years, I've been living next door, and I've never been in here once?" Gray asked me.

I laughed- Gray could make me laugh even in the worst situations. Just another good quality of a friend, I guess.

"Why not?" I wanted to know.

"I thought it'd be too girly," he admitted sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes. "Geez, Gray. What about _your_ room? Is it so _boyish?_" I joked.

He laughed, appreciating my attempt at humour. "Actually, it's almost identical to this one."

"Hmm… since I'm living here now, I think I'll try decorating it to make it look girly," I teased. "Maybe I'll even redecorate the halls. I'm sure Ann would help me."

"Nuh-uh," Gray objected. "I _refuse_ to come home after a hard day of work, to find a bright pink hallway leading up to my room- which you are absolutely _not_ allowed to go in."

I mock punched him on the arm. "Oh, come on, Gray. Won't you let me paint your room pink? And then I can change the bed sheets into ones of the Disney Princesses."

"No thanks," he rejected. "Besides, I don't even think they sell Disney Princess bed sheets here."

I thought about it, and decided that he might be right. "I'm sure I can find some pink ones, though."

"That's it, I'm locking my room from now on."

"Do you even have a lock?"

"I'll install one."

"Good luck with that. When I tell Ann what my plan is, she'll be agreeing with _me_."

"Uh, I don't think so. I'm their better customer, so they can't afford to lose me," he countered. "Plus Ann's not the 'painting-boys'-rooms-pink-without-permission' kind of girl."

"Everyone loves a good prank."

"Great. I'll prank you."

I narrowed my eyes into a glare. "You wouldn't."

His answering smile was mocking. "Try me."

"I'll be on my best guard," I promised. "You'll never fool _me_."

"That's because you're the queen of fools," he laughed.

I laughed too. "I'm your queen then."

"I'm not a fool."

"You so are."

"No, I'm not. Don't include me in your kingdom of foolishness."

"At least I _have_ a kingdom."

"I'd rather not have a kingdom if that means that I'd have to lead fools."

"Geez, Gray!"

He laughed, then ruffled the top of my hair playfully. "I'll let you settle into your new 'home' for now. You know where to find me when you need help. I'll be in _my_ kingdom… you know, the one where _actual people actually live?_"

The course of the conversation had shifted the both of us closer to the first bed, so all I had to do was turn around, grab a pillow, and throw it at his face.

Too late. He saw it coming and dodged out of the way before it hit him. Then, sticking his tongue out like a five-year-old, he ducked out.

For a second, I wondered if I should even bother picking up the pillow. The answer was that I _should_. So I sighed and walked over to pick it up and threw it onto the bed. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't bring anything along with me. Not my dog, not my clothes. Not even the tools in my tool box. Of course, I had the rucksack on my back, but when I pawed through it, I could only find squashed, three-day old herbs and a small bottle of milk I had freshly milked from my cow… three days ago. I emptied the contents into a trash can nearby and left to retrieve clean clothes from my farm.

That night, I tried testing out all three beds instead of choosing one. I sat on the closest one first. It was the one with the pillow I threw at Gray. It was big, but kind of hard and lumpy, so I decided to try the second one next. It had a green quilt, while the other two had yellow ones, so I figured that this one was special. The pillow was soft, but the quilts were too think for winter.

Part of my mind noted that this was close to what Goldilocks was doing in the three bears' house, and I half-expected three bears to come walking in while I went to bed on the third bed, which was almost 'just-right.'

To sum it up, I missed my original bed and couldn't remember or figure out the reason as to why Goldilocks would go through all that trouble just to sleep in someone else's house. What was she doing there anyway? Home is the best place to sleep. It feels like _home_.

It was somewhere around then- thinking about Goldilocks- that I fell into a dreamless sleep.

**Sorry the chapter kinda went longer than I expected it to. I'm really not good with chapters. Actually, I'm not good at writing stories either, so I'm really grateful you read it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gray and Claire**

**Fan Fiction Chapter 2**

**Hi! Thanks for choosing my story to read. Are you already bored with it? I'm sorry, I'll try to make something happen really soon. In fact, as soon as I get the idea. **

The loud, banging noise was the sound that woke me up. It was incredibly annoying and I tried to figure out where it was coming from.

"Claire! Are you awake yet?" I recognized Ann's voice, but it sounded far away.

"Leave her alone, Ann," This was Gray's voice. It surprised me. Did they come to my farm? What time was it?

"But doesn't she usually wake up at dawn? She should've been up hours ago!" Ann protested.

"Just let her sleep. She'll wake up when she's ready."

"Claire?" The banging noise started again. "Can you open the door?"

I forced my eyes to open and found myself in the room of the Inn. The voices were coming out from outside the door. I think I had locked it yesterday.

I threw the heavy quilt off me and shuffled to the door, rubbing my eyes. When I pulled the door open, Gray and Ann were standing there, already dressed for the day. Ann was a plate of salad. I recognized it as the salad that Doug serves for lunch.

"Good morning Claire!" Ann grinned cheerfully.

"Sorry, Claire. I tried to stop her," Gray explained. "But she's just crazy."

I nodded. "It's 'kay. What's up?"

"I brought you breakfast!" she held her dish out towards me. "It's free today since you're the first ever girl guest!"

"Uh… thanks," I stepped back, leaving the door open. "Come on in."

Ann walked in and placed the dish on the table. "I'm going to the Spring for fresh air. Want to come with me?"

I shook my head. "No thanks."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you later then," she smiled at me and skipped to the door.

"Bye," I replied as she turned into the hallway.

It was silent as both Gray and I listened to the sound of footsteps disappearing down the staircase.

"So, are you going down to the farm to help Gotz?" Gray asked me.

"Yeah."

"I'll be there after work. Maybe I'll even take the day off sometime."

"You don't have to, Gray," I insisted.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I have to."

I rolled my eyes. "But will you be able to make it?" I joked. "I mean, aren't you going to be _so tired_?"

He glared at me. "I think I can handle it."

"Sure," I grinned mockingly, then decided to change the subject. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah."

"So you're off to work now?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah," he turned to walk away. "Later." Then he closed the door on his way out.

I sat at the table alone. I wasn't lonely or anything. I was used to eating alone, but somehow, it seemed quieter here. Probably because there was no animal sounds.

I pushed the remains of my salad around in my bowl, thinking of my animals and wondering how they were doing. Well, I'd finish my food and go visit them.

Downstairs, Doug was behind his counter as usual. We exchanged a brief greeting and I walked out of the door. I was running as soon as the Inn door swung shut behind me, eager to see my farm again. Snow was falling today and I could see the smoke that my breath was producing in the cold air. I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face when my farm came into view. It was so… welcoming.

I jogged into the farm and saw that Gotz was already starting to rebuild my house. I greeted him encouragingly and tended my animals. I'd already checked on them yesterday, when I returned to get some clothes, and fortunately, they were not harmed by the tornado. I patted them, talked to them, brushed them and fed them with affection. In many ways, they were like my own kids. I wondered if I would ever get a real kid, and that led to wondering _whom_ I would have it with. Before I could start fantasizing, I jumped out of that train of thought. It didn't matter. I had too much work to do. I can't even think about that.

It was around one p.m. when Gray finally showed up.

"I came as soon as Gramps dismissed me," he told me, although I didn't say anything. "So what do you need help with?"

"Claire and I have been removing the stones and stumps that the tornado left behind," Gotz explained before I could say anything. "We've just about finished with that. So we're going to start on building the house now. Gray, can you help me carry the lumber here?"

"What about me?" I demanded. "I can carry lumber too."

Gray smirked at me. "Just leave this to the guys, alright?"

"No, not alright," I glared. "I want to help too."

"It's okay, Claire." His voice was gentle, caring, but I knew him well enough to know that he was actually mocking me. It was evident in his eyes.

"I'm not weak," I stated.

"Never said you were," Gray countered. "It's your own fault you think you're weak."

"I don't think I'm weak," I began, but he cut me off before I could argue further.

"Well, just stay here and be a good girl, alright?" he grinned.

Gotz was already pacing away from us. "Gray. If you're finished with teasing Claire, we need to go now."

"Coming," Gray replied, grinning at me one more time before following Gotz.

I scoffed and sat on a stump, waiting for them to return.

"Gray! Can you bring that over here?" Gotz yelled.

I smiled smugly as Gray dragged the basket full of lumber to Gotz.

"Shut up," he muttered to me as he passed. I grinned wider, but otherwise, kept my mouth shut. This was a nice thing that Gray was doing for me. I shouldn't annoy him. I decided to thank him properly with a present, but I was stuck on what I should give him. What does _Gray_ like? I'm pretty sure that he likes ores, but if he wanted any, he could just go mine it up. I wanted to give him something special, but something that wasn't _too_ special. A friendship token. Something that told him how much I treasure our friendship.

"Hey, Gray," I said.

"What?" he asked, probably thinking that I was going to tease him.

"Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

He wasn't expecting that. He turned to me and blinked. "Er… sure."

"If you could have anything right now, what would you have?"

Frowning, he considered his answer. "Why?" he hedged.

"Just answer the question."

"I like baked corn," he said slowly and I mentally facepalmed myself. "You know Kai? Down at the Lodge? He makes the _best_ baked corn. You should go eat sometime."

"I'll think about it," I replied.

He smiled at me and walked off, continuing to work on my house.

So Gray liked baked corn. That only told me that he was hungry right now. Not really helping. Now that he mentions it, _I _was hungry too. I was willing to bet that Gotz was hungry too. It's already evening and all we've had was breakfast.

"I'm hungry," I announced. "How about we go get something to eat at the Inn?"

Gray grinned. "Great. I'm starved."

"What about you, Gotz?" I asked.

"You go ahead. I'm not that hungry yet."

"How could you not be hungry yet?" I wondered. "You've only had breakfast, right?"

"I ate a lot of breakfast," he clarified. "Besides, I don't really like the food there. I'd rather just go to the supermarket and buy myself something."

"Okay. We can go to the supermarket too, right Gray?"

"Yeah."

"No, it's okay. You kids go ahead."

And that's how we ended up going to the Inn alone. Ann welcomed us, and wondered why we were back so early.

"We came here to eat," I told her. "Then we're going back to help Gotz."

"I want to help you too," Ann complained. "I can ask my dad for a few days off work."

"No," I objected. "It's bad enough that I have one friend to help me for free. I _refuse_ to let you work on my farm, Ann."

"She's so pigheaded, isn't she?" Gray whispered to Ann like I wasn't even there, sitting across the table from him.

"I can hear you," I told him.

He grinned at me. "I know."

We'd already collected our food from Doug, and since the menu didn't have much, both of us were having Box Lunch.

Ann didn't stay with us. Harris was there too, so she had to attend to him and tidy up the place. Sometimes I wonder if her job is tough.

"Claire, hurry up and eat so we can go back and finish," Gray said to me.

"I know, I know," I mumbled.

"By the way, it's my treat."

"What? No way. I can't allow you to pay for my food above everything else."

"Seriously, Claire. You have to let me do stuff for you."

"Why?"

"Because I-" He trailed off, suddenly self-conscious of himself. "Because… I'm your friend."

I had a feeling that he didn't say what he actually meant to say, but I decided to overlook it.

"Then let _me_ pay. I'm your friend, aren't I?" I smiled, knowing that I had him there.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't do that," he said.

"Why not?" I just feel so guilty to make him do stuff for me. Even if it _is_ willingly.

"Jeez, Claire. You don't make the_ girl_ pay when you're on a date," he explained. "It's just not cool."

I sat silently. "We're not on a date, though."

He blinked, thinking over his last words. Then his eyes widened and he pulled his cap down, embarrassed. "I didn't mean it that way! I… I meant that… in general, you just don't make the girl pay- ever. Even if she's a friend."

I sighed, defeated. "Fine."

He grinned. He liked it when he won our arguments- and we get into a lot of those so often.

"See, Claire? You've got to let me win sometimes."

"Don't push it," I muttered. "Now, if you're finished, then we have to get back now."

"Right. Let's go." He stood up and walked over to Doug to pay.

I waited by the door and thought about what he said. Did Gray see _this_ as a _date_? Was it even possible? _If_ Gray asked me out on a date, would I say yes? To me, he was just a great friend. I was lucky to have him, and I really do like him a lot. But did I like him in _that_ way?

I didn't have enough time to ponder about this because he was at my side already.

"Should we buy Gotz something?" he wondered as he held the door open for me. "From the supermarket, I mean."

Well, he wasn't acting like we were on a date. Or maybe our momentary 'date' had ended already. I made myself focus on his question.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I think he can handle himself. He said he wasn't hungry."

"Yeah…" Gray agreed. "Can you believe that he wasn't hungry? I was _starving_. I mean, does that guy even eat? I've never seen him eat. He just comes into town on Saturdays and buy a week's worth of food, but other than that, there's no proof that he _does_ eat."

"Well, he might not be human."

"You think so?" Gray actually considered the idea for a moment. "Nah, he couldn't be anything _but _human. I mean, what else could he be?"

"He's human," I assured him.

We were passing the Poultry farm now, and Popuri came running out.

"Claire! Ann told me what happened, and I just want you to know that if you don't feel comfortable living in the Inn, you can stay at my house."

Popuri was another friend that I was on good-terms with. She was a nice girl, and pretty too. I liked her house, and it would definitely be closer to my farm. Plus, it would have that homelike aura, with the chickens and all, but I didn't want to live there for two reasons.

The first one was that her house didn't have an extra guestroom or bed or anything, and so it would be a little awkward as her older brother, Rick, also lived there, and I might have to sleep in the same room as him.

The second reason was that I liked Lillia, and she was diagnosed with some sort of sickness. I didn't want to be a burden. An extra mouth to feed, or anything.

"Thanks, Popuri," I smiled politely. "But I'm fine at the Inn."

Her face fell. "Why? What's wrong with my house?"

"Nothing's wrong with your house. It's just that... you know, I'm already settled at the Inn, and I don't want to be a burden."

"What burden? Claire, it was _our_ decision to ask you to stay there. It's free and I'll cook breakfast every day."

"It's okay. Besides, don't you think that it'd be weird for me to live with Rick when we're not related or anything?"

Popuri looked at Gray meaningfully. "What about Gray? He's a boy. He gets to live with you."

"That's not the same, Popuri," I tried to explain. "The Inn is… a public place, you know? We get customers and everything. Besides, Ann and Doug are there."

The pink-haired girl slumped her shoulders, but admitted defeat. "Okay, Claire. My mom _did_ tell me not to force you too much."

I grinned at her. "So what's up with you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing much. Mom's starting to teach me how to run the store a little though. Where are you two going anyway?"

"Gray insists on helping me clear up my farm, so…"

Her reaction was exactly as I predicted.

"You should've told me that you needed help! I'll help you too."

"No, Popuri," I said firmly. "I mean, thank you, but I already have all the help I need."

"You're not letting Ann help you either, are you?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Well, I guess I can't be treated any specially… unlike Gray."

"What? Gray isn't being treated specially!"

"He's not? Well, you're okay with living with _him_ and you're okay with letting him help you..."

"That doesn't mean that he's special to me. He's a friend just as much as you guys."

"Sure," she said. Her tone suggested that she didn't believe me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you around, Popuri. I need to go help Gotz now."

"Okay. Bye."

Gotz wasn't in the farm.

"He must've gone to get food after all," Gray said.

"Well, that proves that he _is_ human, I guess," I grinned.

He smiled back, but didn't say anything.

"So… um, what were we supposed to be doing again?" I asked.

He looked at the scrapheap pile which was my house. "I don't know actually. Gotz was doing most of the building."

"The sun is setting," I said, surprised.

He looked up too. The golden orb was sinking in the west and the twilight shadows were creeping up to us. It was going to be dark soon.

"What are we supposed to do? It's getting colder too." I crossed my arms to keep them warm.

"You should go home," Gray told me.

"What about you? What about Gotz?"

"I'll wait here for him."

"No. Either I'll wait with you, or we both go home."

He sighed. "You're so stubborn, you know that?"

I grinned at him. "Only sometimes."

He laughed. "When it gets dark, we're leaving."

"We are?"

"Claire, I won't let you freeze to death here."

"I won't," I assured him. "But if I did, then at least I get to die in my farm."

He glared at me. "That's not funny."

"Isn't it? I thought it was a killer joke," I laughed.

"You're so lame." His face broke into a grin.

I stuck my tongue out at him childishly. Then shivered in the snow.

He rolled his eyes. "You're cold."

"N-Nothing I can't handle." I ignored my chattering teeth.

Gray moved closer to me and removed his cap, placing it on my head instead. I looked up at him.

"I- I don't need-" I started.

"Will you just let me help you sometimes?" he laughed, his hand still resting on top of my head… well, on top of his cap.

"I do. That's the problem. I let you help me _too _much."

"That's absurd." He removed his hand.

"Um, no, it really isn't. I mean you should be at the Inn right now, being warm, but because of _me_, you're… here."

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind."

"Aren't _you_ cold? I'm fine, really. You can have your cap."

"Just wear it."

I looked up at him again, and realized something. "How many times have I ever seen you without your cap?" I asked him. "Like once?"

He shrugged. "I like that hat."

"But you look nice without it," I told him.

He laughed once. "What? I'm don't look good with my cap?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. You look nice whatever you wear- or don't wear. I- I mean wear on your head," I stumbled over my words.

"I'm just kidding, Claire." He sounded amused.

I mock punched him on the arm. "Jeez, don't do that."

"The truth is that I already know that you think I look good in everything," he joked.

"Don't flatter yourself with lies," I laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Hey! What are you guys still doing here?" Gotz called from the other side of the farm.

"Gotz? We were waiting for you!" I yelled back.

"It's already late. Go home now. The wild dogs are coming out." He warned before turning to go.

"Jeez, all that waiting for nothing," Gray complained.

"It wasn't so bad," I disagreed lightly.

He glanced sideways at me. "Sure. You're warm now."

"Well, here," I reached up to take the cap off, but he startled me by grabbing my hand.

"I didn't say I was cold" was all he said.

Gray didn't let go of my hand. Instead, he pulled me along with him as we walked back to the Inn.

_What is he thinking now?_ I couldn't help wondering.

I was probably thinking too much. Gray could be doing this just as a friendly gesture. He might not even be thinking about it like I was.

But that thought was upsetting to me, I realized, astonished. Why? Did I _want_ him to be thinking about this? Did I want him to like me? Did I like him?

Gray was a great friend. He's always been there for me, and we've had so much fun together. But that's just it. We're _just_ friends. So why do I want him to think of me more?

His hand was big. Bigger than mine, but not rough like most blacksmith's hands. It was also warm against mine, which were freezing. And above all that, it felt _good_. I _liked_ it. What I couldn't figure out was why.

"Hey, Claire," Gray said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Why did you ask me that question before? The hypothetical one."

That's right. I wanted to buy him a gift. But I wasn't going to tell him now.

"Was it because you wanted something?" he continued. "I mean, were you hungry or something?"

I shook my head, but he wasn't looking at me. "Not really. There was no reason. I was just… curious, you know? I mean, I still don't know much about you, and I just wanted to… find out what you like."

"You still don't know me?" he asked, looking at me.

"Um… I do. But I don't… _completely_ know you," I tried to explain.

"You can't completely know about a person," he said matter-of-factly. "Everyone has secrets."

"Will you tell me?" It slipped out by accident. I blushed, looking down, and suddenly realized the purpose of the cap. How well it could hide your face! No wonder Gray wears it 24/7. You never know when you might need it.

"Tell you what?" Gray questioned.

"No, never mind. Forget it."

"Tell me, Claire. What?"

"I said forget it."

"Come on, Claire. What am I supposed to tell you?"

"Um… well, I was just wondering if... you know, you'd tell me your secrets one day," I mumbled quietly. When he didn't reply at once, I dared to peek at him from under the cap. He was looking straight ahead, and I couldn't read his expression. He turned back to me and I realized that I was blushing scarlet. My face burned with embarrassment.

Finally, he smiled. "We'll see."

I grinned back, not quite getting rid of the blush. "See on what?"

My question made his expression change. He turned abruptly and was self-conscious at once.

"Gray? Are you hiding something from me?" I demanded, trying to look into his eyes.

"No, of course not," he answered.

His lie was perfectly convincing… but I knew him better, and I knew how he lied.

"Fine," I decided not to push him further. "Everyone has secrets, right?"

"Claire, it's not like I don't want to tell you. It's just that I _can't_ tell you."

"It's not your secret to tell?" I guessed.

"No, that's not it," he replied truthfully. "I… Maybe I'll tell you someday."

"Promise?"

He looked at me long and hard. "Promise. Someday."

I smiled, grateful that he was willing to share his secret with me. "I won't forget."

Gray didn't reply as he pushed open the door of the Inn. Although it was night-time, the inside was warm and as lively as ever. I didn't come by much at night, but others certainly do.

Basil, Duke, Saibara, Rick and Karen were sitting around, drinking wine. Ann was walking around, being a busy waitress.

Basil saw us first, since he was sitting closest to the door.

"Claire! I heard what happened," he told me.

Of course. This was a small town after all. "Yeah. But it's cool though. I mean I get to live here and they're all so nice to me."

"You could live with us too, you know? Mary was really worried about you."

"Really? I'm fine. She doesn't need to worry."

"I told her that, but you know her."

Yup. Mary, the quiet librarian, was very kind. One of the kindest town people I've met. She was always so polite, and caring. I'm not sure why, but I've always had a weird hunch that she was the person who would end up with Gray if I hadn't come here, to Mineral Town.

In my mind, everyone already had pairings, and they were perfect together. Ann would've been with Cliff, but I suppose, since Cliff left, that my hunches were nothing but hunches after all.

"Gray! Do you even know what time it is? Why are you home so late?" Saibara scolded.

Gray cringed, angry at his grandfather. I squeezed his hand to tell him to calm down. He sighed.

"I was just helping Claire on the farm. Jeez, gramps. You make everything I do sound like my fault. What's wrong if I came home late? I'm not a kid anymore."

"_I'll_ decide whether you're still a kid or not!" Saibara told him. "How dare you answer back to me? Do you want me to send you back to your parents?"

I tugged on his arm cautiously. Nobody else was paying attention to them. Gray and his grandfather were always yelling at each other. But I didn't want Gray to be scolded. I understand how all he wanted was to be praised by Saibara.

Understanding my silent plea, Gray turned around and stormed off. I expected him to leave me here, but surprisingly, he dragged me by the arm with him. It was rougher than before, since he was practically yanking my arm, and he _was_ angry, after all.

"Sorry," he mumbled, letting go of me once we were upstairs.

"It's okay," I replied just as quietly.

"He just makes me so mad!" he explained. "Who does that old man think he is, anyway?"

"He's your grandfather, Gray," I replied, feeling more normal now that he was just the same old Gray who was angry with Saibara. I'd seen this side of him a lot of times. Less often than usual nowadays though. I was starting to think that he was in a better relationship. Guess not.

He laughed- a short, exhausted sound that was with no trace of amusement. "Sorry, I'm just complaining now, aren't I?"

I shrugged. "You're mad. I get it."

"You're so strong, Claire. You have to run a farm on your own and I don't hear _you_ complaining."

"That's cause I work at my own pace. There's no one hollering at me the whole time I'm at work either."

"You know, Claire, you're so hardworking. I admire you."

I blinked, confused by his choice of words. "Huh?"

He grinned, yawning. "Well, it's time to go to bed. Good night."

"Night."

He opened the door of his room, ready to go in.

"Oh, wait," I said, taking the cap off. "You forgot this."

"I forgot that I wasn't wearing a cap!" he realized.

"Yeah, so?"

"The townspeople saw me without a cap!"

I laughed at his horrified expression. "I already told you, Gray. You look fine without it."

"But nobody sees me without my cap."

"I've seen you without your cap."

"Yeah, but that's cause you're you. I don't usually let people see me without my cap."

"What do you mean it's because I'm me?" I raised an eyebrow in question.

"You're one of my closest friends."

"Oh. Well, don't worry about it, Gray. It's not like you look bad."

He shrugged, taking the cap. "I'll take your word for it this time, Claire."

I just grinned at him in response and walked into my own room.

Just before going to bed, I reviewed the events of the day. Rather than answers, I had picked up a whole lot of questions.

Alright, I've decided that during my time here, I'd learn as much as I can about Gray! Starting tomorrow. He _did_ promise me that he'd let me know about him. I intend to make my friends keep their promises.

**Phew, another chapter done. Is this too long? I'm not too sure. Anyway, I'm watching Pokemon as I type this, so I might be distracted. Hahahaha. I like the first theme song best. :D **

**Really, thanks for reading. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gray and Claire**

**Fan Fiction Chapter 3**

**Hi! Once again, disclaimer: I do not own anything. I'm really trying my best with this story, and I really hope you like it. **

This time, I woke up at dawn, like usual. I sat up, stretching and yawning. The whole Inn was quiet. Nobody was arguing outside, in the hallway. Nobody was awake yet.

I wondered what I was going to eat. Normally, I would've just gotten something to eat from the fridge beside my kitchen. But now, I had nothing to eat, and I was pretty sure that the supermarket wasn't open yet either.

I got changed into my usual farm clothes, but since it was still winter, I decided to put on a sweater and a jacket on top of it. Now that I was warm enough, I left the Inn quietly.

Gotz was down at the farm by the time I arrived again. Did he even sleep? I laughed quietly, wondering what Gray would say to that. The sound of my laugh alarmed him. Gotz looked up to see me, standing over at the gate. He greeted me with a grunt and I greeted him much more cheerfully. In a way, Gotz was a happy person. He could be rude sometimes, but that was more of a habit than mood. What made him the happy person he is, was that no matter what his job was, he'd take it and enjoy building it. I went to my animals again, caring for them. Looks like they're perfectly fine and glad to see me. How fortunate it was that none of them got hurt during the tornado. I don't know how I'd react if I'd lost my home and my animals all in the same day.

I walked over to Gotz, ready to help.

"Don't bother," he told me. "I'm not doing much today. Just measuring stuff and other carpenter things that would be complicated for you."

"I can do it if you teach me."

"Don't worry about it, Claire. Why don't you take the day off? It's a cold day too."

"I don't really have anything else to do."

Gray walked into the farm, dressed in heavier clothes than his normal work uniform. It really was cold. But what was he doing here at nine a.m.? Shouldn't he be in work?

"Hi Claire. Hi Gotz."

"Oh, hey Gray," Gotz replied, not surprised.

"Gray? What are you doing here?"

"I came to help," he replied simply. "I didn't want to wake you up, but it turned out that you were already gone."

"I don't sleep in every day," I told him.

"No, I can see that you don't."

"But why are you here? What about work?" I demanded.

"It's Thursday. The blacksmith's closed on Thursdays, remember?" he spoke slowly, like I was a young child.

"Well, how am I supposed to know what day it was?" I mumbled. "I only snapped out of my coma three days ago."

"Claire, that wasn't even a coma. You were just unconscious. Sleeping."

I stuck my tongue out, unable to think up a proper comeback. He could see that in my face and laughed, knowing that he had secured his victory.

"I don't need help from either of you today," Gotz told us, keeping his eyes on the piece of lumber he was sawing.

"Whatever it is, I can do it," Gray volunteered.

"This is a one man's job. I can do it alone."

"He wants us to take a day off," I told Gray. "Won't let me help either."

Gray looked over at Gotz. "You sure you don't need help?"

"Positive."

"Okay," he sighed. "I'll just be going now."

"Eh? Where are you going?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really have anything to do," he admitted. "Hey, let's just hang out today."

"Um, you mean together?"

"Sure. Unless you have something else to do."

I shook my head. "I don't have any plans."

"Great," he grinned. "So what should we do first?"

Embarrassingly, my stomach chose that moment to growl. I laughed weakly and crossed my arms over it. Gray eyed me disapprovingly.

"You haven't eaten breakfast yet?" he questioned.

I shook my head.

"Really, Claire, you have to learn to take care of yourself."

"It's not like I had anything to eat," I defended myself. "Doug was still asleep at the time I woke up and the supermarket wasn't open."

He sighed. "I guess I have no choice but to feed you."

"What? You don't _have_ to feed me. I can and will feed myself."

He laughed dismissively. "Sure you can. I'm hungry too anyway, so let's just go together."

Before I could reply, he pulled my hand and made me walk along with him. I've never noticed that he was strong. I guess the reason for that is that he's never dragged me along like this. In these past few days, I feel as if Gray's been happier somehow. Maybe he's always been like that. Maybe I'm the one who's never noticed. What a bad friend I was. Gray does everything he can to help me. Always. But I don't even know a thing about him.

_Isn't that the reason though?_ A voice in my head said. _The reason why I've decided to learn more about Gray? _

I want to know more about him. I want him to open up to me. Yesterday, I learned that Gray liked bake corn. The next time I grow corn, I'll give him some as a present.

_A present!_ It suddenly hit me. I haven't gotten Gray anything. What was I supposed to buy him? Should I make something? What could _I_ make? He'd laugh at me if I ever make something. What does he like?

I hadn't noticed that I was quiet all the way to the Inn, but Gray had.

"What's up, Claire?" he asked, trying to read my face as he opened the door for me- in the process, letting go of my hand. "You know Gotz will make us work if he thinks he needs it," he said, misinterpreting my silence as concern.

"No, I know that," I said quickly.

"So… then why were you so lost in thought?" he questioned. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing!" I was horrified to realize that I was blushing a little.

He snickered. "Doesn't sound like nothing to me."

"Well, it _is_ nothing, okay?" I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up in defeat, but he was still grinning.

I turned away from him to order. This time, I ordered apple pie. Gray settled with cheesecake.

"I thought you were hungry," I said as we sat down at a table.

He shrugged. "Uh… yeah, not that much anymore."

"You are such a liar," I grinned.

"I'm such a _good_ liar," he corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "That's not really something to take pride in."

"Why not? Lying is not easy, you know? You gotta have the talent for it," he bragged.

"Okay. But you're _not_ a good liar."

"Sure I am. You said so yourself."

"I said that you were a liar. Not that you were good or anything."

"Apples and oranges," he concluded.

"Um… not really."

"Just eat."

I laughed, but obeyed, digging into my apple pie. Doug makes the best apple pies I've ever tasted. If he ever went to the city (where I come from) he'd get a job as a chef real quick.

_Although_, I thought, looking at Gray eat his cake. _it's not like I don't understand why anyone would rather stay here. In Mineral Town. _

After we finished our food (Gray managed to scarf down another two plates of cheesecake), we paid for our food and left the Inn.

"I didn't know you were such a pig," I joked. "You finished three large pieces of cheesecake and I haven't even finished my pie."

He grinned at me. "You'll be surprised at what I can do."

"What? Can you swallow a horse whole or something?"

"Something like that."

I laughed. "Don't go near my farm animals."

"But seriously, Claire. You gotta admit. Doug makes the meanest cheesecakes. You just can't stop yourself from eating more."

"I'll remember that the next time I'm about to order," I told him. "Hey, where are you going anyway?" I asked when he started walking along the path.

"Come on, I'll show you something," he replied.

I caught up to him, and let him lead me out in the wilderness, and to the meadow. The ground was covered with snow instead of its usual grass. All this snow gave me an idea. I knelt down and started forming a snowball.

Luckily, Gray wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. He was staring out into the distance, so I had the perfect opportunity to throw it straight in the back of his head.

_Smack!_ Ah, the sound was satisfying. I cracked up laughing and that made me let my guard down. Before I knew it, Gray's snowball of revenge had hit me. I wiped it away just in time to see that he was aiming another one at me. Uh-oh. I grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and darted away, trying to dodge the next snowball. But the ground was covered in snow and you couldn't run very fast if the ground was covered in snow. Gray's hit my leg while I was stumbling around. Without aiming, I threw my half-made snowball in his general direction. I didn't have time to see if it hit him or not as I started making another snowball already.

Just like that, it turned into a snowball fight. I think I'm already a pro at making snowballs in a rapid pace, but now that I think about it, so is Gray.

By the time we were exhausted, it was around noon. Gray had surrendered, so we were on a truce. I laid down in the snow, too tired to care about whether it was cold or not. Gray laid down beside me.

"Let's make snow angels," I said, moving my arms in a up and down motion and my legs in a sideways motion to leave an imprint in the snow.

I heard Gray's laugh from beside me, but I couldn't tell if he was doing it or not. Finally, I stood up to examine my angel and saw that Gray had made one too. He sat up beside me to look at it. Then he looked at me.

"You're cold," he stated simply.

"Not more than usual," I replied, trying to control my chattering teeth. "Why?"

"Wait here," he said, getting up. "I'll be right back."

"Huh? Gray, where are you…?" I called after him as he ran off. I sat back down, trying to keep myself warm. "What a weirdo."

It was some minutes later that I saw Gray come running back. He was breathing heavily, like he'd been running.

"Where did you go?" I asked.

"To get these," he held out a pair of black, woollen gloves and a matching muffler to me. I realized that he was also wearing gloves.

"For what?"

"I got them for you. Thought you might need it. Since we're playing in the snow and all."

"Gray, you sound like a guardian with a little kid," I told him, laughing a bit, although I was touched.

"Well, you act like a little kid," he replied with a grin. "Take it."

"Thanks," I slipped the gloves on. "Where'd you get these from?"

"You know Won? Down at Zach's place? He sells these." **(note: In the game, he doesn't) **

"Oh…" I looked down at my hands, trying to speed up the warming up process.

Gray took another step closer to me and wrapped the muffler around my neck. I stiffened- a perfectly ordinary reaction when someone comes that close to you- and he stepped back.

"Darn, I'm no good at tying these things," he said.

I laughed, looking down at it. "Actually, it looks just fine to me," I assured him and flipped my hay-coloured hair out from under the muffler.

Gray smiled at me. "So are you warm now?"

I looked down, fiddling with the ends of the muffler. "Yeah, thanks." It was weird, having Gray care about me this much. Maybe he's just in a better mood because he doesn't have work today.

"What do you want to do now?"

"Well, there's no point going back to town after you had to run there to get these," I said. "So let's just keep going up."

"Up? To the mountain peak?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," he agreed easily.

On mother's hill, it was exactly like I predicted. Everything was covered in snow and it was colder- which, I thought wasn't even possible. I shivered.

"Are you cold?" Gray asked me.

"I'll warm up in just a minute," I told him, crossing my arms. And I did, eventually.

"What did you plan to do here?" he queried.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not in a mood for a snow fight…"

"I'm not either," he inserted.

I smiled. "Thought so. But we're dressed for playing with snow, right?"

"What are you getting at?"

I pointed at the cliff. "Don't you think that this is a great place for building a snowman?"

"You want to build a snowman? Up here?"

"Yup. Let's build a big one! So then maybe we'll see it even when we're at the bottom. And it's cold here all throughout winter, so I don't think that it will melt anytime soon."

He sighed. "You're such a kid, Claire."

"What if I am?" I challenged. "Come on. Help me build it!"

"Do I even have a choice?"

"Nope!" I grinned. "Let's get started. Remember, we're going to build one taller than ourselves."

"Okay, I know."

It wasn't taller than us. When we finally finished, it was only as tall as us. A few inches short, even. It had a structure of three snow balls, one smaller than the one underneath it. I made Gray hunt down some small rocks to put as the mouth and eyes. But we couldn't find a carrot nearby, so we left the nose blank. As for the hands, I found a couple of broken down branches and used those.

"It's not big at all," I complained.

"You completely ruined the face," he noted.

I glared at him. "Well, _you_ picked out the rocks."

"Those were the only rocks I could find," he amended. "And it isn't the rocks. It's how they're arranged… by you."

"Well, you ruined the body. Those two are practically the same size and the top one's too small," I pointed out.

"You made the hands and the sticks are really thin and dry and fragile."

"The body isn't even round!"

"_You _left out the nose," he accused.

"You were too bored to go get a carrot."

"Why don't _you_ go get it?"

"I don't feel like it."

"Well, me neither."

At that moment, the snowman's head rolled off and landed in the snow with a splat. It wasn't stuck down properly.

We looked at each other and burst out laughing, blaming each other.

"That was pretty funny," I giggled, crouching beside the head.

"Heh. Yeah," Gray agreed.

We ended up making another head. Then I suggested that we make the middle snow ball a little smaller so that it fits and finally, I went to look for better sticks to use as hands. I considered using lumber, but Gray said that the snowman looked better without hands anyway. So now, the snowman looks a little more decent and without hands.

"Well, looks like we're done," Gray said.

"Just in time too," I pointed at the sky. "Look."

The sun was setting in the west. The white clouds turned into pink, giving the sky an orangey look. Yet from up here, the sun took my breath away. It was so big, and golden and wonderful.

"It's beautiful," I gasped.

"Uh-huh," Gray replied.

"You'd never get to see this in the city," I told him. "Too many buildings and pollution."

"Too many humans," he agreed.

"Do you watch sunsets much?" I asked.

"Not from up here. This is the first time, and it was the most beautiful I've ever seen around here."

"Mineral Town should attract a lot of tourists."

"Why?" Gray didn't like the idea. "They'll start polluting our town too."

"Good point."

We watched in silence as the sun sank into the horizon and took the light with it. Right before our eyes, the sky turned darker and darker until, finally, we could see the stars that dotted the sky. The magic of the evening wasn't taken away though. Not completely.

Gray turned to me. "Guess we should head back now."

I smiled back at him. "Sure. It was fun though. We should hang out again sometime."

Then Gray did the weirdest thing. In one movement, he put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me. Before I'd even make sense of anything, he released me.

"Sorry," he mumbled and ran off.

I was still frozen. What just happened? It wasn't a hug, although we were in the correct position for that. If someone had seen us, they'd think we were hugging. No, it wasn't a hug because Gray didn't just hug me. He pulled me towards him so that our lips clashed. He _kissed_ me- on purpose. Then he said sorry and ran off, which didn't really make sense, but still, he had kissed me.

What was up with that?

I bit my bottom lip, trying to figure it out. What was going on? Did he like me or something? Did _I_ like him? I couldn't come up with a proper answer. My mind was jumbled up. I couldn't make a full sentence. Try as I may, I still knew. There was some part of me that had always been in love with him. I'd been telling myself that we were just friends, but… but we weren't really. The truth was that I really did like him… a lot. The little things he did that made me incredibly happy, or blush. Why I always seem to care if he cared about me or not while I didn't even notice Ann's or Popuri's concern for me. How I really wanted Gray to open up to me. To trust me. It was all so clear to me now. Those things I did, because I cared about him.

Suddenly, nothing made sense to me anymore.

**Thank you for reading! It makes me happy. Please review. I want to know if I'm doing well or not. I don't know if I did things correctly because I've been adding and deleting so much of my story. I keep going back to edit and sometimes, I completely change my story line. So I may have made a mistake somewhere. I also try to relate to the game often. I'm playing Harvest Moon: MFOMT so it might be a little different with your version of Harvest Moon sometimes. Anyway, I promised I'd make something happen, so then I spent some time thinking and ended up with, '**_**Hey, let's make Gray kiss Claire!'**_** and that's what happened. ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Wow, it's been so long! I even forgot what I was writing about! Whatever storyline I had in my head back then, it's totally gone. -_-" But I'll try my best at finishing this story. I think that in the end it'll be a short story though. Unless I want to try a twist to the story or something. Anyway, sorry I'm writing too much. Let's get on with the story!

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own anything in this story.

**RECAP: After Gray and Claire had spent one day together in the snow, Gray suddenly kisses Claire and runs off without explanation. **

My legs started working before my conscious mind did. Before I knew it, I took off and was running back to the Inn.

The words, _Why did Gray kiss me?_ was running in my head.

I liked Gray, and since he kissed me first, there was a chance that he might return my feelings.

I banged on Gray's door with my fists. Since Cliff and Kai weren't there, then didn't need to hold back in case they were sleeping.

"Gray? I know you're in there!" I shouted.

No reply.

I swung open the door and marched in anyway. Gray was sitting on his bed and turned to look at me when he heard the door open.

"What?" he demanded.

_He_ was angry?

"What do you mean what?" I snapped. "You were the one who kissed me."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" he shouted back. "It's just one kiss."

"Just one kiss?" I repeated, baffled. Admittedly, that hurt. My heart throbbed painfully inside my chest and I just hoped that he couldn't hear it. "So… what? You don't _care_?"

He didn't reply, and I felt the tears coming. My eyes were burning and the tears were threatening to spill over, but somehow I kept them back.

"Why did you do it?" I demanded.

"Just felt like it" was his causal reply.

I suddenly felt cold, and the tears finally spilled over as I ran through his words in my head. Just felt like it. What did that even mean?

"It's no big deal to you at all, is it? Well, that was my first kiss! You stole my first kiss and you don't even care about it!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" he answered, frustrated.

"You're unbelievable."

My sudden instincts took over and I bolted out of the room, not caring that the door closed with a loud bang behind me. Did he think that a sorry would fix everything?

Gray's such a jerk. I can't believe he stole my first kiss for nothing.

**End of Chapter 4**

**Sorry it was a short chapter since it's been so long since I've last posted. ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Okay, so I know my last chapter was short. Sorry. But I'm going to try and make up for it by posting more chapters. Thanks so much for supporting me! I'll give it my all for my stories. And thanks for the reviews, also the criticism ones. I'll take them to heart and really try to improve for that. And also, sorry for the mistakes I've made. ^_^**

**I do not own anything!**

"Claire?" Ann was sitting on the edge of my bed, gently shaking me. "Wake up. It's noon already."

"Leave me alone," I moaned from under the thick layer of the blanket.

Despite my request, Ann was persistent. "What happened between you and Gray?"

Why would she jump to that conclusion so fast? I could be sulking simply over the loss of my farm. Maybe it finally sunk in for me.

"Nothing happened," I lied.

"You're lying," she accused. "Gray was acting weird too."

"Weird how?" Admittedly, I was a little curious. Last night, Gray was certainly acting different, and colder than usual. I thought we were on a good basis… maybe I was wrong. I moved my hand to touch my lips, where Gray had kissed, and almost started crying again.

Ann hadn't noticed it. "I don't know. He was standing outside your door, being all hesitant."

I pushed the blanket out of my face and stared up at Ann, astounded. "What? When?"

She blinked, surprised. It was safe to say that she was not expecting my reaction. "This morning, I came up to clean the hallway and instead of going to work, Gray was standing outside your door. At first, I thought that you were mad at him and wouldn't open the door for him, but then I realised that he wasn't even knocking on the door. When I asked him what he was doing, he just left without replying."

I ran her words through my head.

_Gray_ was standing outside my door? Why? Did he come to check up on me? Was he repentant?

Ann was staring at me. "So I definitely know that _something_ is going on between you and Gray. But you won't tell me, will you?"

I shook my head and hopelessly said, "There's nothing going on between Gray and me."

Of course, she didn't believe me. "Well, it's none of my business anyway. But just talk to him, okay? Try to sort things out." She jumped up and smiled at me. "I'm going to get back to my work. See you later," she closed the door behind her as she left.

Although I wanted to deny the fact that Ann was right, I couldn't. Because Ann _was_ right. I _should_ talk to Gray and sort things out. But I didn't want to see him yet.

On the other hand, my animals needed to be attended, so that was unavoidable. Besides, Ann had said that it was noon. Gray should still be at work, so if I hurry up, I could still dodge having to meet with him. Reluctantly, I slipped out of bed and made my way to the farm.

Gotz was working away when I arrived, and I was relieved that Gray was nowhere in sight. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody, and Gotz was the perfect company because he didn't feel the need to fill every silence. I got to work around my farm and, once I was finished, informed Gotz that I wasn't going to help him with building my farm-house today. He replied with a casual, "Didn't need it anyway." But he also added that I should start looking better soon. Was that his way of cheering me up? Did I look that down?

I was on my way out of the farm when Gray walked in. We both froze on the spot for a moment, staring at each other. By then, I had assumed that he wasn't coming to help me at all. But yesterday's event was still unsettling, so I broke our eye-contact and walked past him without a word. As I did so, Gray stiffened beside me, but I pretended not to notice as I escaped from the farm.

The next morning, Ann didn't bother me, so I had some time to think and reflected on my behaviour. Maybe I really should talk to Gray. It was really troubling me. Gray isn't like that. I'm sure he had a reason for acting like that. I cringed in embarrassment as I remembered how my tears had spilled in front of him. I wondered what he thought of me now. After thinking it through properly, I set my mind on confessing to him. I'll tell him that it won't be taken personally if he rejects me, and that I only wanted him to know. It was scary, but it would be the right thing to do. I would wait for him at the farm today, and when he came, I'd tell him.

No regrets, I told myself. This is my decision.

He didn't come to the farm. I waited with Gotz until the sun had set, but he never showed up. I knew that I had deserved it, and that I'd probably do the same if it were me in his shoes. But all the same, it still hurt. Gotz gathered up his tools and spared me one more glance.

"You're waiting for him, aren't you?" he asked.

I was surprised that he could see through me so easily. Especially since he didn't usually care about people's problems. "I-I'm not waiting for anyone!" I insisted. "What makes you think that?"

He didn't look convinced, but he didn't ask for more. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but you should make up already."

"Make up?" I repeated. "But we never broke up in the first place."

"You two weren't going out?"

"No." Did people see us in that way?

"Oh. My bad." He started walking back towards his house.

"Bye," I called after him.

The days flew by like that. The more Gray ignored me, the more I ignored him. And the more I ignored him, the more he ignored me. It continued throughout a whole week. Neither of us even saw the other, much less talked. Ann and Popuri tried to talk me into talking to him.

"You guys have just gotten along so well before," they said. "It's weird to see you guys fight."

"We're not fighting," I claimed.

"That's true. You two don't even see each other enough to fight."

I could've denied it, but we all knew that it was the truth. And the truth was a hard reality.

I wish I could go back in time.

**End of Chapter 5**

**Thanks for reading! How was it? Pretty bad, huh? Ahahaha, I'm really sorry. I'm half asleep right now. U_U **

… **and this is all I got up to with my 'Let's make something happen!' idea. Let's see what happens next cause I honestly don't know. Ahahaha. XD**

**Good night/Have a nice day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It wasn't long before I started to realise that I was running out of money, and that I wouldn't be able to keep depending on my animals. I needed food and shelter from the Inn. Plus I had to pay Gotz. I was going to have to find another way of earning money.

After I was finished with my farm work, I grabbed my hammer and hoe and made my way to the mine. I used to come here all the time, but then I bought animals and didn't need to spend my time mining as much. Taking a deep breath, I unleashed my wrath upon the defenceless rocks.

"Stupid Gray," I muttered after the eighth blow, sitting down on the dirt to rest.

"Who's stupid?" a familiar voice came from behind me, followed by a gentle hit on my head.

"Ow!" I recoiled away from the hand and looked up at the person who it belonged to. Gray was standing there, but he didn't meet my eyes.

"It's been a while since you've mined," he noted, looking around at the tools lying around.

I glared up at him. "So?"

"You're so weak. I'll bet you've only mined three rocks."

I pouted, ashamed to admit that it was true. "I'm not weak."

He laughed lightly. My heart throbbed as I listened to his voice. I missed him.

"Sure you are. Let's have a contest," he declared.

"Contest?"

"Yep. To see who can break the most rocks in one hour."

"I accept your challenge."

He grinned. "Wait, there's a catch. If I win, then you have to… stop ignoring me."

"What?" I jumped up, astonished. "You were the one who's avoiding me!"

He frowned. "I was not. You ignored me that time at your farm."

"Okay. That was my bad, but you were mean to me first," I replied defensively. "Then I was going to apologize the next day, but you never came!"

"Claire, I live right next to you. If you were going to apologize, you could've walked right in."

"Don't try to blame it on me."

"I'm not _trying_ to blame it on you."

"So you're saying that it _is_ my fault?"

We were both getting angry, and that wasn't how it was supposed to go. But I was too angered to back down now. I assume that he felt the same way.

"Nobody is at fault here!" he shouted.

"_You're _the one at fault!" I yelled back. "_You're _the one who made everything confusing for me. You kissed me, but then you said that it was nothing."

"You're still mad about that?"

"Of course I'm still mad about that!"

"Then I'm sorry I ever kissed you! If it bothers you so much, then just forget it ever happened."

The tears were stinging my eyes again, but luckily, the mine was dark inside, so I doubt that he could see it. "You're such an insensitive jerk, Gray!" I shouted. "I'm sorry I ever fell in love with you!"

Realizing that it had slipped out of my mouth, I sprinted out of the mine out of both embarrassment and remorse.

Because I wasn't looking where I was going, I ran right into a person outside the mine. Instead of falling back like I would've, the strong pair of hands held me up.

Through my teary eyes, I found myself staring back into the red eyes of another boy. He had white hair with bangs underneath a black cowboy hat.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "…Hmmpt."

His name was Vaughn- a resident from Sunny Island. **(A/N- Play Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness)** Sometimes, people from Sunny Island comes to Mineral Town for a visit and I'm already friends with some of them. Vaughn was cold, and didn't talk much. But he was cool and I know that he could be really nice if he wanted to.

"… Are you crying?" he looked at my face carefully, which made me feel self-conscious.

Another pair of hands grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from Vaughn.

"Keep your hands off her," Gray said.

"I cannot just stand by when you're making ladies cry," Vaughn answered. **(A/N: I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the way Vaughn talks. But he's polite, right?)**

Gray tensed. "None of your business. Claire is in love with _me._"

I felt shamed and broke out of Gray's grip before running off again. I heard Gray calling my name after me, but I didn't stop until I reached the beach.

I angrily wiped the tears away, breathing heavily. I can't believe Gray said such a thing.

"Are you angry at Gray?"

I hadn't noticed it, but Vaughn was right beside me. He had followed me here?

"Claire… if he is making you unhappy, you don't need to stay by his side…"

I sniffed and looked up at him. He was trying to cheer me up?

"I'm sorry…" I said.

"Why are you apologizing?" he questioned.

"Because it must be uncomfortable for you, right? To try and cheer me up like this."

"I don't mind."

Vaughn was actually a pretty cool guy, if you got to know him.

"Thanks," I smiled, grateful to have a friend like him. But I thought over his words. Could I leave Gray? Avoiding him for a week was hard enough, but could I stop being his friend altogether?

Vaughn cleared his throat and I wondered what he wanted. "Did you confess to Gray?" he asked.

"No, I did not!" I replied instantly.

He looked out into the ocean, thinking and not seeing anything. "Do you love him?"

"N-No! Of course not!" I spat out. "Gray's mistaken. I would never love him."

"Is that so?"

I gasped and turned around. Gray was standing a few meters behind us, but I knew that he still heard every word I had said.

"You don't love me," he stated. "I was mistaken."

There was something off in his expression, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Before I could reply, he turned and left the beach hurriedly.

I took a step after him, but Vaughn stopped me.

"Don't go after him. He doesn't need you," he told me. "Stay with _me_, Claire. I'll protect you."

My eyes widened as I tried to make sense of his words.

"I like you, Claire. Will you go out with me?"

What?

**End of Chapter 6**

**Oh my gosh. Half the time I didn't even know what I was doing! So how was it? I hope it's okay to bring in characters from other versions of Harvest Moon. Kai and Cliff aren't there, so I had no choice.  
>Thanks for reading! Until next time!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**RECAP: An unexpected confession from Vaughn? How will Claire react?**

"I like you Claire. Will you go out with me?" There was no trace of a joke in Vaughn's face or voice. He was completely serious… and he was asking if I would go out with him.

"Umm…" I searched my brain for something to say, but nothing would come out.

Vaughn waited patiently, as if he has all the time in the world.

"B-But you'll be leaving me soon," I stammered. "I know you have to work…"

"I'll come back to Mineral Town as soon as possible."

"But…" I tried to think, but my mind wouldn't respond.

He stepped forward and embraced me gently. His body was warm as it shielded me from the roaring wind of the beach. "I can make you happy, Claire. I promise," he whispered in my ear.

I swallowed nervously and felt my heart thumping in my chest. Gray didn't even like me, and Vaughn's also a good friend of mine. It wouldn't hurt to go out with him, right?

Listening to our rhythmic breathing, and the waves crashing in the distance, I accepted.

Ann tackled into me the moment I arrived back at the Inn.

"O-Ow… Ann?"

She was fuming. "You're going out with Vaughn?"

I blinked. "How did you know about that?"

"Gray came back and started sprouting some nonsense about you going crazy and hooking up with Vaughn," she sighed. "I know you're upset about Gray, but you didn't need to go date the first guy you find."

"I did not do such a thing!" I exclaimed, horrified.

"But you _are_ dating Vaughn?"

"Yes."

She groaned. "Claire, you love _Gray_, remember?"

I blushed and looked away. "I do not!"

"You're so stubborn! You know that I know that you know that you like Gray."

"Well, Vaughn's a good person, who's also my friend. I don't see why he can't be on the same level as Gray. And besides, he asked me out, Gray didn't. End of story."

I tried to walk away, but Ann grabbed me by the shoulders and stopped me. "Wait… he asked you out? Why so suddenly?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But he said that he liked me and that he could make me happy."

"And you believed him," Ann accused.

"Well… yeah. I mean why shouldn't I?"

"Claire, this guy _can't_ make you happy," she told me. "Nobody but Gray can make you happy."

I denied it. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is, Claire. It's not because Vaughn's not a good person or anything, but because your heart belongs to Gray."

"Ann… listen to me. I do not love Gray. Vaughn asked me out and I said yes. That's all there is to it."

She heaved a sigh. "You only said yes to Vaughn out of depression and maybe kindness."

"No, I said yes to Vaughn because there is a chance that it might work out between us," I explained.

"Oh my gosh! You're so thick-headed!"

"Why are you trying to make it work between Gray and me so badly? What's it to you? Do you like Vaughn or something?" I know it was unfair for Ann, but my frustration was building up inside me and I had to unleash it.

She bit her lip and glared up at me. "You know who I like."

"Right. Cliff. But things couldn't work out between you guys, could it? Well, it's not like things are going to work out between Gray and me either, so just leave me alone."

"You're so mean, Claire!" she cried.

This time, I realised that I had gone too far. Cliff was a subject which Ann was sensitive about and I had said cruel things to her.

"… I'm sorry, Ann," I apologized. "I got carried away… I didn't mean to."

A quiet sigh escaped her mouth and she looked up at me with her blue eyes. "I'm sorry too, Claire. I guess I _was_ pushing you a little. If you say that you like Vaughn, I'll believe you."

I smiled. Ann was such a good friend. "Thanks, Ann."

Gray, on the other hand, was incredibly hard to ignore. He was there when I woke up, and he was there when I came back to the Inn. But the worst thing was that he never even spoke to me. He didn't even spare me a glance. But instead of being treated like I didn't existed, I was being _hated._ Every time he sensed me around, he tensed up and became enwrapped in a dark aura. Sort of like an evil version of Gray. It was as if he was annoying me on purpose.

Ann had loosened up on the idea of Vaughn and me being together. Whenever he came for a visit, she'd greet him with the right enthusiasm and actually cheer us on. But that being said, we haven't actually ever been out on a date. We just hung out together, like friends.

So I was really surprised when he announced that we should go on a date. Mineral Town was a relatively small town, so I doubted that there was any place we could go. Vaughn just laughed and told me that he'd take me to Sunny Island, and I was excited since I'd never been there before. But it's not like we were staying overnight or anything. It was just a one day trip.

I was waiting outside the Inn for Vaughn when Gray came out, on his way to work. For the first time since I went out with Vaughn, he looked at me straight in the eye.

"So… you're really going out with that guy?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yep."

"You guys are going to Sunny Island?"

"Yep."

"…"

"What?"

"… Nothing. Have fun," he said as he walked away from me.

"Have fun?" I muttered, watching him go. "What the heck is his problem?"

"Sorry, did you wait long?" Vaughn asked as he paced up to me.

I shook my head. "Not really."

"You ready?"

"Yup!" I grinned.

"Let's go. I have a boat ready."

"We're going there by boat?" I asked as I trailed along behind him.

"Sure. How else would we get there?"

I laughed at my own stupidity. The boat was small, built for speed rather than luxury for people who were travelling. It had a roof and a steering wheel and other necessary things a boat should have. I climbed into the seats as Vaughn started the engine.

I enjoyed the sea breeze blowing in my face although it was still cold. During the trip, we witnessed many sea-creatures, like dolphins coming up for air and a variety of school of fish. It was actually great fun. It took an hour or so, but we made it to the other island and berthed at their beach. Their wooden dock was longer than the one in Mineral Town, and Denny, who reminds me of Kai, greeted me with his usual cheerfulness.

"Hey, it's Claire!" he grinned. "Well, what do you know? Vaughn found himself a girlfriend."

I grinned back. Denny was just kidding around. It was his nature. But Vaughn was a short tempered person and he was starting to get annoyed at his friend.

"Vaughn invited me over here," I told him. "It's my first time."

"I'll bet it is. You have fun here, okay?"

"Okay," I promised as I followed Vaughn.

Their town was small, but it was still bigger than Mineral Town. Vaughn toured me around the whole town, including the mountains and the forest. Most of the people knew me, so they stopped to chat a while. Pierre invited me for lunch and angered Vaughn in the process. I laughed every time he got annoyed at somebody for trying to steal me.

By the end of the day, we had been all over the island and I was exhausted. Vaughn was somehow not as tired as I was, as he gathered up his energy to take me back to Mineral Town.

When we got back, I stepped out of the boat and turned back to him.

"Thank you for taking me there," I beamed. "It was really fun. I want to go back someday. Good night, Vaughn."

"… Good night, Claire."

I insisted that I would walk back to the Inn by myself and that he needn't concern himself over such trivial matters. As tired as he was, he gave in, although hesitant, and retreated back to his own island.

I reviewed the day as I walked back to the Inn. Yes, it was very fun. I spent a day with Vaughn, my boyfriend, and all my Sunny Island friends. But it didn't feel like a date. It was more like a huge birthday party. I sighed. Maybe what Ann said _was_ true. Maybe my heart did belong to Gray.

But it was too late now. I can't go back and fix it.

**End of Chapter 7**

**Heh. This time I wrote three chapters in one day! :D I'm happy about that. It's sort of like homework. If I do it today, then I'll have enough for the next days… unless I upload all of them at the same time. **

**Anyway, thank you so much for reading! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It seemed to me, that the more I stayed with Vaughn, the more encouraged he became. Before I knew it, he had taken me out on two more dates. One to the city amusement park, where I had fun. It was only after I got back did I realize that we didn't do anything couple-like. No hugging, no kissing. Nothing. It was more like Vaughn was baby-sitting me for a day. But he wasn't discouraged, for he asked me out again, but to the city aquarium this time. There were plenty of couples there, and compared to them, we didn't look like a couple at all. So I started to wonder. What was I doing wrong here? Is it because I didn't have any real feelings towards Vaughn and still considered him a friend?

One day, Vaughn offered to help out on the farm. I hadn't thought that Gray was much help, but ever since he stopped coming, the speed had slowed down significantly. But with Vaughn there, it might speed up again. Although he could only be here only on the weekends since he was working every other day. After Vaughn helped out on the weekend and left again, with a promise to come back as soon as possible, Gray somehow found out about it… and decided to use it as a conversation topic.

"So… that guy is helping you out on the farm now?" he had said, avoiding eye contact as he did so.

We were in the blacksmith shop- I had mistreated my hammer and needed Saibara to look at it.

Very thoughtfully, Saibara chose to ignore our whole conversation. He pretended that Gray hadn't said anything at all.

I kept my eyes on the hammer that Saibara was inspecting as I replied. "Uh-huh."

"Is he any real help at all?" he muttered under his breath, but I still heard it anyway.

"Well, since _you_ stopped helping out all of a sudden," I pointed out, rubbing it in his face a little. "Gotz and I have been progressing a little more slowly. Vaughn noticed it and offered to help out, being a nice person that he is."

I knew Gray well enough to know that he wasn't satisfied with something… and that something was probably Vaughn.

"Oh yeah," he scoffed. "What a nice person _that guy_ is."

I rolled my eyes. "What's your problem? I know Vaughn can be rude, but once you get to know him, he's actually really cool!"

I couldn't help sticking up for him.

"I don't have a problem with that guy!"

Now we were both yelling.

"Then stop addressing him as '_that guy'_! It sounds rude!"

"Well I'm sorry I'm not as nice as him!" he shot back.

"You know what, you're not!"

"If you like him so much, why don't you go live with him then?"

"Gray! Enough!" thundered Saibara, quietening us both.

We had forgotten about his existence and he was not happy that we were fighting in his shop.

"But Gramps-" Gray started.

"I said Enough!" Saibara shouted, and his word was final.

Gray flinched back, scowling at both me and Saibara.

"You cannot pick a fight with a customer!" he scolded. "Save your quarrels for when you're _not_ at work!"

I saw Gray rolling his eyes and almost cracked a smile. I used to come to the blacksmith often, and whenever Gray was scolded, we'd laugh about it afterwards. But now, there wasn't going to be an afterward. I was treating him badly too, so he must be mad at me. Not to mention I even started going out with another person when things between us haven't been sorted out yet. Did Gray still consider me as his friend? Or was it too late for that? Tears sprang to my eyes and I did all I could to keep them back.

"Claire?" Gray's soft voice broke into my thoughts and I blinked, accidently making eye-contact with him.

"Huh?"

He was shocked to see tears in my eyes. "Hey, are you okay?"

I nodded, rapidly blinking my eyes to clear the tears. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine."

"You didn't need to get so scared. Gramps was scolding _me_, not you." He misunderstood.

"I know that," I mumbled.

Saibara was looking at me, unable to understand why I was crying. Did he think that it was his fault too? I mentally kicked myself for being so pathetic.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Embarrassed, I shouted, "I said I'm fine!" and ran out of the shop.

Why? Why did I run away from him? Stupid Gray. Even though I'm supposed to be mad at him right now, why does my heart still beat for him?

Without looking where I was going, I ran into Vaughn.

"Hey, are you okay?" he repeated Gray's words, which was really not helping.

I looked into his eyes and made a decision. It wasn't right for me to date him without any feelings whatsoever. It wasn't fair for him.

So I stood up tall, looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Vaughn… let's break up."

**End of Chapter 8**

**Oh my gosh. I've totally messed up the story line. What the heck's going to happen next? Why was Vaughn even there anyway? I thought he was at work! Plus I didn't know Claire was so brave to declare something like that. She couldn't even tell Gray that she loved him after he kissed her… which really didn't make sense, by the way. Oh yeah, I'm sorry I suck at making them fight. XD And hmm… three dates… should they have kissed by now? I thought of making Claire kiss Vaughn for like a second and it quickly passed my mind. I don't think I will make them… but maybe I will. We never know what's going to happen next. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**RECAP: Claire's sudden decision takes Vaughn by surprise. She wants to break up…?**

Vaughn was stunned by my sudden announcement. Instead of asking for a reason, like some other people might've, he simply continued to stare into my eyes and finally sighed, as if he had found the reason after reading my mind.

"I see…" he said.

I see? That's it? He'd let me go just like that? What did he even see?

Gray ran up to us from behind me. "Claire… why'd you leave like that?" he paused when he saw Vaughn. "Oh… hi Vaughn."

Vaughn was looking at me. "He is the reason, isn't he?"

I blushed. "N-No! Of course not!"

He smiled at me- not a happy smile, but a retired smile, saying, "Oh well. I did the best I could anyway. Time to move on."

"I wish you both happiness in the future," he said sincerely before walking off.

"W-Wait, Vaughn!" I called after him. "It's not like that… it's just that it's not fair for you."

"I understand," he replied without stopping.

Vaughn understood quickly and accepted the fact that things weren't going to work out between us easily. If I may say so, he didn't even appear hurt my decision. Maybe he saw it coming after all. But to take it bravely with a smile… he really is cool.

"What?" Gray questioned, watching him go. "Did I miss something?"

I didn't want to tell him about it, because unlike Vaughn, he wouldn't understand. I sighed. "Shut up… you're so annoying."

"What are you talking about? You're the annoying one."

I started walking back to the Inn. "Whatever."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Back to the Inn. I'm done for the day."

"… I'll just get back to work then," he said. "I'll come drop your hammer off by tonight."

"Okay… Thanks."

I heard Gray's footsteps fade until they were out of earshot and rubbed my eyes. Vaughn and I were officially not dating anymore, but I think we're still friends. As I trudged into the Inn, I wondered about one particular question.

_But what about Gray?_

**End of Chapter 9**

**Such a short chapter, yes? I created it in less than half an hour. I wonder if it was wise… to not let Gray know about it… oh well. What's done is done, right? Good night. Sleep tight (doesn't really make sense) and don't let the bed bugs bite. :D**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A word of warning: I absolutely have no idea about what I'm going to write right now. I'm just going to type whatever comes to mind. I was playing Harvest Moon for an hour before starting this, so that my mind is completely set on Harvest Moon at least.

I just realised that Vaughn didn't actually have a purpose… I know, I'll make one right now.

As promised, Gray returned my fixed hammer to me that night, but didn't stay for a chat- not that either of us knew what to say. And another thing, Gray still doesn't know that I broke up with Vaughn, but why should he care anyway? There was no point in telling him and making a big deal out of it.

"Claire! Watch what you're doing!" Gotz shouted at me, breaking my train of thought.

I blinked up at him. "What?"

"Your axe," he pointed.

Gotz had given me the duty of collecting more lumber, and I was going around the farm, axing all the stumps I could find. I hadn't realised it, but I almost cut my hand just then.

"O-Oh… I'm sorry," I mumbled, removing my hand sheepishly.

"Claire, let me show you how to do it," a pair of gentle hands removed the axe from mine.

I looked up to see Vaughn.

"V-Vaughn?"

The axe was snatched away by Gray, who just arrived at my farm.

"_I'll_ show her how to do it," he said.

"Huh? Gray?"

Both boys ignored me.

"Well… look who showed up," Vaughn smiled- it didn't look friendly to me.

Gray was glaring under his cap. "I've been helping Claire with her farm before you showed up."

"And then you stopped," Vaughn said as a matter-of-factly. "That's why I came to help the damsel in distress."

"U-Um… I don't really need help from either of you…" I tried, but they didn't hear me again.

"Well, I'm back now, so you can just go back to your Island… even if you are her boyfriend."

Vaughn glanced at me, confused. Then he understood that I hadn't told Gray.

"Looks like there's something Claire hasn't told you," he smiled.

Gray glanced at me too. "And what would that be?"

"Nothing!" I said quickly. "It's nothing, alright?"

Both of them stared at me. Vaughn with a strangely smug expression, and Gray with an angry and suspicious expression.

"F-Fine. You _both_ can help Gotz on the farm then!" I said to escape further questions.

They reluctantly agreed and got to work. I went up to Vaughn.

"You came…?" I asked quietly.

He grinned at me. "We're still friends, right?"

I smiled back. "Really?"

"Really."

"So… you're not mad at me?"

"Nope."

"Vaughn… you're so cool… I'm sorry about that. Really."

"Don't worry about it. I knew you didn't have any feelings for me anyway. I'm just glad you decided to end it before we got more serious."

I frowned. "We weren't serious?"

"Not even close. Dating you was like babysitting a child."

I pouted. "How mean."

He laughed. "You're so childish, it's impossible to date you."

"For you, maybe."

He got serious. "You think Gray has a chance?"

I blushed. "I told you, it's not like that!"

"Come on, Claire. It's obvious you both have mutual feelings for each other."

"We do not!"

"You like him don't you?"

I flinched, unable to answer. He took it as a yes.

"And he likes you too."

I ducked my head. "No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does. Do you think I'd be telling you this if he didn't?"

I stared into Vaughn's earnest eyes and believed his words for a second. Then I shook my head, refusing to accept it.

"He doesn't have any feelings for me. He doesn't like me," I insisted.

"Claire—"

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked, walking up to us.

"None of your business," Vaughn replied.

"It might be."

"It isn't."

"How would you know?"

"Because it isn't."

They continued to glare at each other. I sighed. What is their problem? If only they could get past their stubbornness, they'd see how alike they are.

I hadn't been listening to the course of conversation, so I was surprised when Vaughn suddenly grabbed me in a hug.

"This will prove if he likes you or not," he whispered in my ear so low that Gray didn't have a hope of hearing. Before I could ask what he meant by that, Gray had ripped me out of Vaughn's arms and pulled me behind him in a protective manner.

"Claire is mine!" he shouted angrily.

I stared at Gray, shocked. "What?"

Vaughn sighed. "You're such an idiot, Gray."

"Like you could talk."

"The girl you love is right in front of you and you can't even get her."

I was the topic of their discussion, but they were ignoring me completely.

Gray grounded his teeth, but didn't deny any part of Vaughn's sentence. I was going out of my mind with the suspense.

_GRAY LOVED ME? _**(A/N: - how naïve -_-) **

"You… love me?" the words sounded strange. It felt like the words were mixed around. It didn't make sense.

Gray suddenly remembered that I was there… or that I could understand their words. He spun around to face me, and his face was looking very troubled. He did not reply.

"That can't be true, right?"

Gray dropped his eyes to the ground. "I _don't love Claire."_

I flinched away from Gray as his words pierced my broken heart. How could he ever love me? Why did I say it out loud? It made me look like a fool.

My eyes started to get watery as I realised how hopeless my love was, and without thinking, I turned around and bolted out of the farm. I needed to get away from everyone.

Everyone was wrong. It wasn't a mutual love, it was a one-sided love.That day, I learnt one thing that I should've known all along.

_Love can be excruciatingly painful. _

End of Chapter 10

**And once again, I have completely messed it up. Maybe I should've just made them confess right there and then. **

**Oh, but just so you know, Gray still thinks that Claire likes Vaughn, not him, and he thinks that he misheard Claire's confession in the mine. **

**After this scene, Vaughn throws a punch at Gray and yells at him to go after Claire.**

**Gray spits back, "Why don't **_**you**_** go? **_**You're **_**her boyfriend!"**

**Angered, Vaughn grabs Gray by the collar. "Claire broke up with me, you idiot!"**

"**She what?"**

"**She broke up with me!"**

"**W-why?"**

"**Because she doesn't have any feelings for me! Because she likes **_**you**_**."**

**Gray finds it hard to believe. "Claire doesn't have any feelings for me. All I've done is make her cry time and time again."**

"**I don't know what she likes in a guy like you either, okay? But all I know is that Claire sees you as her perfect guy and she won't love anyone else…. So go after her already!" **

**Gray takes his advice… but he runs in to Mary on the way. :D**

See what happens next because I still have one more misunderstanding and complication before they can find their happiness.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Okay, I'll try to wrap it up now, and the next story I write ****might**** be more planned. **

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! OH MY GOSH!

I stare, wide-eyed at the two people in the square. I had run off to the beach after what happened at the farm, and decided that I had acted childish and that I should go back and apologize. It wasn't Gray's fault that he didn't like me. I was a fool, that was my wrongdoing.

But _this_ was a totally different situation. In the square, near the bulletin board where the festivals are posted for the townspeople, there were two people on the ground in each other's arms. But not just any two people… it was _Mary… and GRAY!_

Was this why Gray didn't like me? Was he dating Mary? Was I already too late? If so, how long have they been going out for? _Why didn't he tell me?_

Did he love her?

The worst thing was that I was frozen. My blood ran cold and I could not move. Mary was crying, but she was smiling at Gray, and Gray was soothing her in a low voice that I couldn't hear. Their faces were about a foot away from each other and Mary's fragile hands were wrapped around Gray's waist. Neither of them noticed the statue behind them- me. Then in a swift movement, Mary leaned closer and _kissed Gray_.

I was sprinting again, and I was somewhat aware that I was heading in the general direction of my farm. Everything in sight became blurry and I realised that tears were streaming down my face. I must've looked like such a fool. _Why didn't he tell me that he was already in love?_ In love with someone who wasn't me.

I sucked in ragged breaths, not able to breathe because my heart was pounding painfully. My chest felt tight and I couldn't think. I ran through my farm and heard Vaughn call out after me, concerned, but I didn't stop until I reached Mother's Hill.

There, breathing heavily, I was able to think a bit more clearly and cry out loud because no-one would be around to hear me. I dropped to the ground and clutched my chest. It was too painful, I didn't like this feeling. But Gray was _kissing_ Mary. I didn't want to know that. I didn't need to see them like that. I wish I had known that Gray was dating Mary.

I finally calmed down enough to reduce my volume to a sob and drew my knees up to my chin. I heard the crunch of gravel under shoes and knew that someone was behind me.

"Go away, please…" I whispered.

The person didn't listen to me, but instead walked right up to me and hugged me from behind.

"Claire…" it was Gray's voice. "Why are you crying?"

My heart thudded unsteadily. "G-Gray? Why are you here?" And why are we in this awkward position? "Let me go."

"Not until you tell me why you're crying."

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked, angry at him for not informing me.

With a resigned sigh, I felt his arms slip away from me.

"I don't know," he didn't look at me as he said this. "But I hate it. I don't like not knowing why you cry. I don't like it when you don't talk to me. I hate it when I make you cry, Claire."

Gray was blushing a little, and I thought about how hard this must be for him.

"… Why?" I couldn't help asking.

"Because I love you!" he shouted, irritated.

Before I had time to react, he realised what he had just said, covered his mouth with his sleeve and ran off. I was still frozen.

_What?_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Okay, I know that I've been writing short chapters lately… but it's more fun that way, and it looks like this is going to be another short chapter. But what do **_**I**_** know? **

The night-sky was filled with twinkling stars, soft flakes of snow was falling from the same sky and the breeze blew gently. It was the perfect setting for a confession… and that's why I'm left standing like this right now.

Gray confessed to me. He loved me… or so he said. But it wasn't a sweet, romantic confession like a confession was supposed to be. It had slipped out because he got irritated with me. He hadn't meant to say it, but that's what made it sound believable.

I laughed out once. That's so like Gray. I couldn't imagine him confessing any other way, because anything else and it wouldn't be Gray. I stopped myself before I became _too_ happy.

_But what about Mary?_

She wasn't just a nobody. They were kissing in the square. It looked like they were close since they were hugging on the floor. But how close were they? Why would Gray date her, but love me? It didn't make any sense. But I knew that if it turned into a love triangle between us three, I'd have to let go of Gray. She's closer to him than I am.

I found Mary sitting outside the Inn. She was holding a book and when I approached her, she smiled at me timidly, raising her book a fraction.

"Hello Claire," she said in her sweet voice.

"… Do you need something?" I asked. Why else would the girl wait in this cold. "Gray might be in—"

She cut me off politely. "I'm not looking for Gray. I was waiting for you."

I blinked. "Me?"

She nodded. "Gray… told me that he confessed to you today."

So Gray was the kind of person who told his partner everything- why else would he tell Mary about it? At least he was reliable. Did she get mad at him?

"Yes."

"And… I was wondering… what is your answer?"

I sighed. She came here to tell me that I was not allowed to have Gray? "No, of course."

She blinked, astonished by my answer although I couldn't figure out why. "How come?"

"Because I can't have Gray. He's yours."

"_Mine?_" she demanded, flabbergasted.

"Yes. You two are dating aren't you? I wasn't spying or anything, but I saw you two in the square. Really, I'm happy for you."

I started to proceed into the Inn, but Mary grabbed my arm.

"You mustn't say no…" she told me. "U-Um... what I mean is that… you like him too, don't you?"

"But what does it matter?"

"I-It matters very much! Gray and I are not dating, and we have no intention of doing so."

"…Wait… what?"

"The scene you saw in the square was a misunderstanding…"

"Mary… what happened exactly?"

She looked at me and started telling me her story.

Mary had just finished a shift at the library and went home. She received a phone call from the publishing company and they had just accepted her book that she put so much effort into. She was crying because she was _happy_, and she ran into Gray on her way to Zach's, who has her published copy that the publishers sent. They both fell down, and that's when I came in. Gray was congratulating her, not soothing her like I assumed, and the kiss… well, that was a big misunderstanding. Mary didn't lean in to kiss Gray. She was trying to stand up, but slipped and fell forwards, towards Gray. She told me that their lips didn't actually touch- I wasn't close enough to see that.

"But… you like Gray too, don't you?" I asked.

She was genuinely surprised. "Of course not. I mean Gray's a great friend, but I could never go out with him or anything…" she smiled at me, embarrassed. "Actually… there's someone else I like."

"Really? Who would that be?" I couldn't think of anyone who Mary would be interested in.

She giggled a bit before replying. "Um… Kappa."

I laughed out loud in surprise. "_Kappa? _The guy in the lake who likes cucumbers? _That_ Kappa?"

She nodded. "I know he's not… suited for a human, but he's actually really nice. Once, when I was young, I fell down when I was playing by the lake and started crying. Then he appeared to me and told me that I was being too noisy. I suppose that's his way of comforting me."

Only _Mary_ could feel anything for that guy. **(A/N: um… no offense if you married him in the game)**

Still, I was glad that Mary explained this to me. Somehow, my heart was beating in a steady pace and I was laughing again. Things felt completely normal now. I marvelled at how much changed in a short time period.

"Claire… you know how you were going to reject Gray's confession just because you thought that I liked him…?" Mary questioned.

"What about it?"

"Well… I just wanted to say that not many people would do that in this world. Thanks, Claire."

"Um… I didn't really do anything," I mumbled.

She smiled at me. "It's the thought that counts. You're a great friend. I hope no boy comes in the way of our friendship."

I stared at Mary. "You're not such a bad friend either…" I allowed. "I mean you waited for me in the snow and even tried to explain it to me."

She blushed, hiding behind her book again. "T-Thanks. I'll be going now."

"Mary…!" I called after her and smiled when she turned back to see what I wanted. "Congratulations on your book!"

She smiled back. "Congratulations on Gray!"

I blushed. "W-What are you talking about?"

She just giggled and left. Geez… Mary was shy, and normally didn't yell things like that out. But she was also honest, and innocent. I had a feeling that I was going to be better friends with Mary from now on.

I faced the door of the Inn and took a deep breath. There was one more thing I had to take care of- Gray.

**Okay. How many weeks has it been? Is winter over, or do I have to read through my whole story again? (I hate doing that cause my stories naturally sucks. XD there's nothing worse than having to go through the embarrassment of pointing at something and going, "I **_**wrote**_** that? Oh my gosh… why do people even bother reading my stories?" - that's something I'd like to know someday. Maybe they just read it to feel better about their own stories… like, "My work is so much better than that." Hey, in all honesty, I'm okay with that. Disown my story if you want. I'm completely fine with that. Because "if at first you don't succeed, then try, try again" right?)**

**Thanks for reading. ^_^**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I flung the door open. Gray glared up at me, just like the day when he kissed me.

"What?" he demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop blaming me for something that you did."

"I'm not—"

"Whatever. Don't you want to hear my answer?"

He didn't reply.

"Do you or do you not?"

"You're… not going to say no?"

I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Why do you think that I hate you?"

He shrugged. "All I've done is make you cry. I can't do anything right."

I shook my head. "Gray… you make me cry because you _can_. Obviously, I wouldn't cry if it weren't you who did the things you did to make me cry. Like when you rejected our first kiss. I cried because I _cared._"

"I thought you cried because I stole your first kiss," he admitted.

"I wouldn't want anyone else to steal it," I grinned, embarrassed for saying something so cheesy, and buried my face in his warm jacket.

"So… you're accepting my confession?"

"Yes, Gray. I love you too." My face burned up. I confessed!

He released me, but kept his hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes. "Now, let me see if I can do this right," he said, and took my face in his hands ever so softly.

My heartbeat sped, thudding unsteadily.

And then he pressed his lips softly to mine.

Ann stared at me suspiciously as I sat at the table in the Inn to have my breakfast.

"What?" I asked.

"You're… different today…" she muttered.

"Am I?" I looked down. I was wearing my farm clothes, nothing unusual about that. "You must be imagining things," I grinned at her.

"A-ha!" she clapped. "See? You're happier than before. Did something happen?"

I remembered the night before and blushed. "N-No."

"You're lying!" she blamed.

What was she, a lie-detector? "Um… maybe I am."

"Wow, Claire. What happened?"

Gray chose that exact moment to appear downstairs. "Hey Claire, Hey Ann."

"Morning, Gray," Ann replied.

"Good morning!" I beamed.

Gray smiled and came up to us.

"Something happened between you and Gray!" Ann declared.

He hugged me tightly and announced to Ann. "We're married."

"Huh?" Ann made a funny, confused/shocked face.

We both burst out laughing. "It was a joke," Gray explained. "We're just going out."

Ann recovered and smiled. "Really? That's great news!"

The Inn doors opened and Vaughn walked in.

"Oh, morning Vaughn," Ann said.

"Morning," I added.

"Hey…" he replied.

"What brings you here?" Ann asked politely.

He looked at me. "I came to invite Claire to Sunshine Island."

"Umm… for what occasion?" I questioned.

"We're getting married!" another voice chirped before bursting through the doors. Another girl from Sunny Island. She had brown hair, blue eyes and was wearing a red bandana- Kai style. She grinned and skipped up to me.

"You must be Claire."

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Chelsea!"

"The rancher!" I recalled.

I had never met Chelsea before. She was the rancher from Sunshine Island. When I went that time with Vaughn, she must've been in the farm, or somewhere else. We didn't exactly scale the whole island. But I had heard about her before. We were farm rivals, so to speak.

"Wait…" I turned to Vaughn. "You're _getting married?_"

"…Yeah."

"But didn't you just ask me out a few days ago? Now you're getting married?"

"Well… I didn't exactly ask you out because I had feelings for you. I told you, Claire, dating you is like babysitting a child. I only "dated" you to clear my mind. Sorry."

"Umm… it's okay. Really. But why did you need to clear your mind?"

"Vaughn and I were kind of mad at each other… so we were on the verge of breaking up. But now we're together again and we're getting married!" Chelsea squealed.

I laughed in surprise. "I'm so happy for both of you!"

"So what about it, Claire?" Chelsea's blue eyes bored into mine. "Would you come to our wedding?"

"Sure," I grinned.

"Gray can come too. So can Ann and Doug."

"Really?" Ann asked. "I've never been to a wedding."

"I guess I'll see you there then," she smiled. "It was great to meet you, Claire."

"Likewise, Chelsea," I waved as the two of them left.

Chelsea and Vaughn's wedding was the first wedding I've ever been to. They looked so happy together, I just knew that they were going to be together forever. I looked at Gray, who was standing next to me, holding my hand. I gave his hand a squeeze and felt my heart speed up. Things were working out so well for everyone. I wished that we could stay like this forever.

End! Really, the real end… I think. I don't know, maybe I'll make another chapter of Gray proposing to Claire. Because I don't want to end things in odd numbers. (13 chapter)

So how was it? I switched around some stuff at the end and couldn't go with my natural plan, which was all cool because my natural planned wasn't so good anyway. Plus it wouldn't have worked with this time-setting.

Thank you so much for reading. Once again, I would like to say that I do not own anything, and none of this actually happens in the actual game. I don't proof read because that puts me off and I may not publish another chapter ever again. _ So I'm sorry if I made some mistakes here and there.


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